INFORM FACTS & FIGURES
INFORM FACTS & FIGURES Farming often comes under fire from critics. Less concentrated-on and communicated is the size of this sector’s contribution to society and the environment. DIGITALISATION In the third quarter of 2018, 401 farmers in Germany answered a representative questionnaire from the German Rentenbank on digitalisation in farming. 78 % of the respondents said they felt digitalisation simplifies product traceability. 70 % regarded it as having a positive effect on process documentation, and 67 % reckoned it can improve protection of the environment in production. COSTS IN AGRICULTURE Financial expenditure in German farming 2017, for instance for inputs, capital investments and services, totalled around 45.3 bn € of which 9.9 bn represented investments in buildings and machinery. Included in the operating costs is private consumption expenditure of farmers and forest owners which in 2017 totalled 9.2 bn €. NETWORK EXPANSION A survey by the German Farmers’ Association (DLV) on possible barriers to digitalisation included the results: For almost 40 % of farmers the decisive obstacle to digitalisation in agriculture is poor broadband availability. Especially farms over 100 ha see the current availability of broadband as problematical. CARBON STORAGE Grassland, in particular permanent pasture, stores on average about double the carbon that arable land does. With up to 8 % humus content, there is in fact more carbon to be found in grassland than in woodland and forest soils. C C C C C C C C C C C C 12
FOOD WASTE Around 12.7 m t of food lands in rubbish tips every year in Germany. And the largest proportion (55 % or 7 m t) comes from private households with every person in that country throwing out an average of some 85 kg food. A further 11 % food waste occurs in farming (postharvest losses), 17 % in food processing, 13 % in the gastronomy sector and 4 % of food is rejected in the trading chain. EXPENDITURE FOR EATING AND ENJOYMENT The German Farmers’ Association (DLV) notes in its Situation Report that some 14 % of national consumer spending goes for food, including luxury dining items. The respective figure for 1975 was 23 %. Both food quality and processing techniques improved over the period, finds the report. Individual farming efficiencies have been bettered too, for instance through more modern cultivation techniques and breeding improvements. BUY LOCAL In 2015, private households paid out around 1.5 bn € at weekly farmers’ markets. A further 1.3 bn € was spent on goods sold direct from the farm. These results indicate the importance of regional production for many consumers, particularly with regard to meat and meat products as well as fruit and vegetables. WORLD POPULATION Population on this planet by 2060 is assessed at around 10 bn – 2.2 bn more than today. By that time, a single farmer will have to produce on average enough food for almost 200 people. 200 13
